June 30, 2016

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Boris Johnson rules himself out of Conservative leader race –
Ex-London mayor Boris Johnson has ruled himself out of the race to be the next Conservative leader and prime minister. In a speech in London – billed as his campaign launch – Mr Johnson said he did not believe he could provide the leadership or unity needed. It comes after Justice Secretary and fellow Brexit campaigner Michael Gove’s surprise announcement on Thursday morning that he would run for leader. Home Secretary Theresa May is among the candidates. Nominations closed at noon. Also in the running are Energy minister Andrea Leadsom and former Defence Secretary Liam Fox – who campaigned to leave the EU – and Work and Pensions Secretary Stephen Crabb, who backed Remain. The contest was sparked after David Cameron announced he would resign following the EU referendum result, which saw the UK vote by 52% to 48% to leave the EU. Mr Johnson’s unexpected – and dramatic – announcement that he would not stand for Tory leader or prime minister, positions he is long thought to have harboured ambitions for, has dramatically altered the race. Mr Gove and his team of advisors clearly did not believe Boris Johnson had the spine to fully divorce Britain from the EU. Nor did a number of Tory Mps trust Mr Johnson to deliver the promises he was making in terms of personnel and jobs. When Mr Gove made his move, hardened Brexit believers instantly went with him, sinking Boris Johnson. The irony of course is that Boris Johnson, who did so much to take Britain out of the EU, has seen his own ambitious crushed in the aftermath. It could be that the big winner from this vicious Tory drama is the woman in charge of law and order – Theresa May. [BBC]
Boris_JohnsonBoris Johnson

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CLIMBING THE EIFFEL TOWER + DRONE

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  • Colombian, Italian, and U.S. police seize 11 tonnes of cocaine smuggled to various countries and arrest 33 people across Colombia and Italy after the discovery of seven laboratories in the Colombian jungle run by local organized criminal groups and ‘Ndrangheta. (Reuters)
Politics and elections

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July 7, 2016

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Marion Bartoli: Former Wimbledon champion ‘fears for life’ over unknown virus –
Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli says she “fears for her life” after contracting an unknown virus that has caused her dramatic weight loss. France’s Bartoli was barred from playing in an invitational event at Wimbledon this week after doctors expressed fears over her health. Bartoli, who insists she is not anorexic, says the virus is so rare medical experts have no name for it. “This is not life. I am just surviving,” said the 31-year-old. Bartoli says she can only eat organic salad leaves and cucumbers without skins, and has to wash with mineral water rather than tap water. [BBC]
Marion_BartoliMarion Bartoli

The final image sent by doomed Japanese Hitomi satellite –
A doomed Japanese satellite managed to capture a view of a galaxy cluster 250 million light years away just before it died, scientists have revealed. Launched in February, the Hitomi X-ray satellite began tumbling out of control in March when contact was finally lost. Just before its demise, scientists managed to extract data measuring X-ray activity in the Perseus galaxy cluster. Hitomi, which translates as the pupil of the eye in Japanese, was meant to spend years studying the formation of galaxy clusters and the warping of space and time around black holes. It cost more than a quarter of a billion dollars – the research was an international collaboration involving the American space agency Nasa, and teams in Japan and many other countries, including one at Cambridge University in the UK. Hitomi was lost thanks to a sensor incorrectly detecting a roll in the spacecraft. In trying to correct it, on-board systems sent the craft into a spin until finally the solar panels that powered it are thought to have broken off. [BBC]
Hitomi Perseus imageHitomi Perseus image [HITOMI COLLABORATION/JAXA, NASA, ESA, SRON, CSA]

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Movie Credits from Alex Cline on Vimeo.

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  • Scientists manage to extract one last image from the Hitomi x-ray spacecraft, which broke up last March while orbiting Earth. Before it died, the spacecraft captured an image which measured the X-ray activity of the Perseus cluster. (BBC)
Sport

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July 11, 2016

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Prime Minister-in-waiting Theresa May promises ‘a better Britain’ –
Theresa May promised to build a “better Britain” and to make the UK’s EU exit a “success” after she was announced as the new Tory leader and soon-to-be PM. Speaking outside Parliament, Mrs May said she was “honoured and humbled” to succeed David Cameron, after her only rival in the race withdrew on Monday. Mr Cameron will tender his resignation to the Queen after PMQs on Wednesday. Mr Cameron, who has been UK prime minister since 2010, decided to quit after the UK’s Brexit vote. It follows another day of dramatic developments in the political world, when Andrea Leadsom unexpectedly quit the two-way Conservative leadership contest, saying she did not have the support to build “a strong and stable government”. Her decision left Mrs May – the front runner – as the only candidate to take over leading the party and to therefore become prime minister. [BBC]
Theresa_MayTheresa May

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The Foley Artist sees a master of sound at work on a fashion film. If you’ve ever wanted to see the chasm between the finished product and the extraordinary lengths taken to produce it, this short is for you.

The Foley Artist from Feast Films on Vimeo.

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July 13, 2016

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Theresa May becomes new British Prime Minister –
The former home secretary, 59, becomes the UK’s second female prime minister in the wake of David Cameron’s resignation after the EU referendum. She had previously served in the Home Office for more than six years. In her first cabinet she appointed David Davis to the new cabinet position of secretary of state for exiting the European Union – or “Brexit secretary”. David Davis has been appointed to the new cabinet position of secretary of state for exiting the European Union – or “Brexit secretary”. In the post of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson succeeds Philip Hammond at the Foreign Office. [BBC] See List of the Day for full cabinet list
Theresa_MayTheresa May

Marvel kills off Hulk alter ego Bruce Banner –
Marvel has killed off The Hulk’s human alter ego Bruce Banner in its latest comic. The character is seen dying as a result of an arrow to the head from Hawkeye, his Avengers teammate, in the third issue of Civil War II. Banner has been the Hulk’s alter ego since the character’s creation in 1962. However, for the last year, readers have seen Banner medicating himself to keep his anger management issues under control. During that time, a Korean-American teenage genius named Amadeus Cho has taken over as the new human alter-ego of The Hulk. [BBC]

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The Shore’s Second Coming from Scott Secco on Vimeo.

List of the Day –

Theresa May’s first cabinet [Wikipedia]

Cabinet of the United Kingdom 
Portfolio Minister Term
Cabinet ministers
Prime Minister
First Lord of the Treasury
Minister for the Civil Service
The Rt Hon. Theresa May MP 2016–
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Second Lord of the Treasury
The Rt Hon. Philip Hammond MP 2016–
Secretary of State for the Home Department The Rt Hon. Amber Rudd MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Hon. Boris Johnson MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Defence The Rt Hon. Michael Fallon MP 2014–
Lord Chancellor
Secretary of State for Justice
The Rt Hon. Elizabeth Truss MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Education
Minister for Women and Equalities
The Rt Hon. Justine Greening MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union The Rt Hon. David Davis MP 2016–
Secretary of State for International Trade
President of the Board of Trade
The Rt Hon. Dr Liam Fox MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy The Rt Hon. Greg Clark MP PhD 2016–
Secretary of State for Health The Rt Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP 2012–
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The Rt Hon. Damian Green MP 2016–
Leader of the House of Lords
Lord Privy Seal
The Rt Hon. The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park PC 2016–
Secretary of State for Transport The Rt Hon. Chris Grayling MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government The Rt Hon. Sajid Javid MP 2016–
Leader of the House of Commons
Lord President of the Council
The Rt Hon. David Lidington MP PhD 2016–
Secretary of State for Scotland The Rt Hon. David Mundell MP 2015–
Secretary of State for Wales The Rt Hon. Alun Cairns MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The Rt Hon. James Brokenshire MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Rt Hon. Andrea Leadsom MP 2016–
Secretary of State for International Development The Rt Hon. Priti Patel MP 2016–
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The Rt Hon. Karen Bradley MP 2016–
Also attending cabinet meetings
Chief Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Hon. David Gauke MP 2016–
Minister for the Cabinet Office
Paymaster General
The Rt Hon. Ben Gummer MP 2016–
Attorney General The Rt Hon. Jeremy Wright QC MP 2014–
Chief Whip in the House of Commons
Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury
The Rt Hon. Gavin Williamson MP 2016–
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Chairman of the Conservative Party (Unpaid)
The Rt Hon. Patrick McLoughlin MP 2016–

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